It's been five years since the economy began its descent into the second-deepest hole of the past century, and the desire to create jobs has become a common refrain at all levels of government. A three-part series from The Associated Press, analyzing employment trends from 2000-2010, shows how difficult it will be to turn rhetoric into action.

Even before the financial and housing collapse in 2008, technology was eviscerating entire professions. From 2000 to 2010, the nation shed 1.1 million secretarial jobs and 445,000 bookkeeping-related jobs, the AP analysis of labor statistics found.

How can those jobs be replaced? In short, it's time to make small-business issues a big deal.

Throughout history, technological change has both destroyed jobs and created new ones. Many of the opportunities being created today are in small business. While technology has allowed large employers to cut payrolls, it also has reduced the cost of starting a small business.

The loss of jobs to technology and the decades-old decline of private-sector union employment point toward starting a small business becoming an increasingly necessary pathway to the middle class. Government should act now to remove obstacles from that pathway.

Small business has long been popular in concept in Oregon, even among those who are skeptical of corporations. But actions often fail to match words. Aside from the December special session to provide tax certainty for Nike, legislative attention to job creation in Oregon has focused on mostly ambitious efforts -- PERS and tax reform, new policies for management of public lands, building a Columbia River bridge -- that will take years to produce jobs.

A handful of bills awaiting debate in Salem could have an immediate impact by making it easier for Oregonians to navigate the maze of documents required to start and expand a small business.

Secretary of State Kate Brown has presented a bill seeking authorization to create an Office of Small Business Assistance. The purpose of the office would be to help businesses navigate the regulatory process. Already, the secretary of state's office took two technological steps that should make life easier for business owners. Last year, it launched a one-stop business portal to consolidate regulatory information from multiple agencies at one website. Also, it started allowing businesses to file documents online to meet Uniform Commercial Code requirements.

Rep. Caddy McKeown, D-Coos Bay, has sponsored two bills that aim to help small businesses. HB2642 would direct state agencies and local governments to seek ways to expedite and streamline regulatory approval processes without compromising "public or environmental health or safety." HB2643 directs the secretary of state's office to study ways to reduce upfront costs for small businesses by waiving or deferring some fees.

These may seem like small measures, but starting a business is a daunting step -- even for those who receive training through increasingly popular entrepreneurship programs offered by colleges and universities and have access to capital.

"The entrepreneurial aspect of starting something in your garage is something we should cultivate, not make more difficult," McKeown said. States that are successful in encouraging those entrepreneurs will have an advantage as the economy evolves.